To Win Her Trust

by Mackenzie Crowne

  Kris swiped the small towel from the handrail and dabbed at her throat. “And I thought you’d decided to ask Ronald to help you out with your theory.”

  Funny, she hadn’t given her agent a thought in days. Odd, considering how embarrassed she’d been over his rejection, but then, from the moment Tuck made his irresistible offer, she hadn’t exactly been thinking clearly. God, the man scrambled her brain almost as much as he heated her insides.

  Kris cleared her throat.

  CC blinked. What were they talking about? Oh, right. Ronald’s refusal. Her cousin already had a low opinion of her agent. His humiliating rejection was something she’d rather keep to herself. She shrugged. “I changed my mind.”

  A sly grin tipped the corners of Kris’s lips. “You go, girl!” She flipped the top on her water bottle. “So, Tuck agreed to your little experiment? Details. I need details.”

  She glanced away from her cousin’s intent regard. “There’s not much to tell.”

  Kris leaned a hip against the rail and crossed her arms. A laugh sparkled in her eyes beneath arched brows. “You’re a terrible liar, Cees, and worse at keeping secrets. At least from me. Spill it.”

  She scowled and punched the stop button on her panel. “Fine. I didn’t change my mind. I approached Ronald with the idea of the two of us dating.”

  “And?”

  She squirmed beneath Kris’s watchful stare. Squatting on the belt, she snagged her duffle bag. “He declined.”

  Kris straightened away from the bar with a hiss. “The dweeb turned you down?”

  “Shh!” CC glanced around. Thankfully, none of the several dozen patrons working out in the busy gym paid them any attention. After rising, she hopped from her treadmill and headed for the free weights.

  Kris hurried after her. “Cees?”

  She dropped her bag to the floor, selected two ten-pound hand weights, and straightened in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror. Her biceps contracted with the first curl of her arms. “It was a nightmare. I thought he was going to swallow his tongue. He looked at me like I’d grown a second head and couldn’t get out of there fast enough.”

  A low growl rumbled in her cousin’s throat. “Bastard.”

  Guilt simmered in her belly. “Though I’d like to agree with you on that, I can’t. Turns out he’s seeing someone.”

  The towel hung from Kris’s fingers as she folded her arms. “He’s an uptight nerd. You got lucky, as far as I’m concerned.”

  “And stepped into the path of a runaway train. Guess who was standing outside the condo’s open door and heard every humiliating word?” She nodded wryly as Kris’s mouth formed a silent O, then explained how Tuck had shown up the day before and about his gift of the dog obedience classes for Walter. “The minute Ronald left, Tuck offered his services as test stud.”

  Having lifted her water bottle to her lips, Kris coughed. She dragged the back of her hand across her mouth. “Stud as in stud?”

  “Is there another kind?” CC squeezed her eyes shut and dropped her arms to her sides. “God. I’m as bad as Mom.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Apparently she passed her inability-to-resist-a-bad-boy flirt gene down to me.” She opened her eyes and turned her head. “I was scot-free, Kris. By the time I’d finished laying out my rules for the test, Tuck had changed his mind. He said no thanks, but instead of counting my blessings and sending him on his way, I practically badgered him into reconsidering.”

  Disappointment puckered the redhead’s brow. “Why would he say no?”

  “Why would he say yes? I’d just explained about the panic attacks. Talk about baggage.”

  Kris rolled her eyes. “Have you looked in the mirror lately?”

  She scowled and purposefully turned her back on her reflection. Kris rolled her eyes, but CC didn’t need to follow her cousin’s gaze to know what she’d see. She’d never be considered a great beauty. Clearly, the knockout gene had skipped a generation. Unlike her mother, who stood at a statuesque five-foot-ten, CC took after her paternal grandmother. Not that she was a dog. Her five-four frame was well proportioned, with healthy breasts and slim hips, and her curly blond hair and pale skin complemented her large green eyes. With a little time and effort, she could be presentable, but at the moment, free of makeup, with sweat dampening her curls and the front of her T-shirt, she fell somewhere just short of average.

  She smirked. “You’re biased, Kris. Or blind.”

  “Of course I’m biased, and I’m not blind. Think about it. You’ve worked damn hard to remain anonymous. In an age where anyone can be found with a few clicks of the mouse, you’ve managed to avoid the grid. For all intents and purposes, you don’t exist. You don’t even have a Facebook account, for heaven’s sake and yet, one of the hottest bachelors in the country took the time and effort to track you down. A man who goes to that kind of trouble has got to be interested.”

  She cursed her fair skin and the blush that heated her cheeks. “Oh, he’s interested.”

  “Well then?”

  Frustration filled her sigh. “You know how I am. I started babbling. He deserved to understand the full scope of the situation, but apparently, he’s got a brain beneath all that brawn. The minute he realized how little experience I have had with guys, he slammed on the brakes. I should have done the same, especially when he warned if he consented to help me prove my theory, he’d be doing his damndest to get me into bed.”

  Kris’s eyes went owl wide. “He said that?”

  “Almost verbatim.”

  “Wow.” Kris dropped to a weight bench with a faraway stare, then her brows snapped together. She slapped her towel to the padded leather seat at her side. “Man. Why doesn’t stuff like that ever happen to me?”

  CC spun to face her. “I’m serious.”

  With one long leg crossed over the other, Kris leaned back on her hands. “So am I. He’s single, sexy as hell, and, if the rumors are true, knows his stuff in the bedroom.”

  No arguing there. If his kisses were any indication… She huffed. “Well, I don’t. What’s more, I’m not interested in learning.”

  Kris rolled her eyes. “Oh, you are so full of it.”

  She coughed a laugh, and they shared a grin.

  Kris held out one hand to study her nails, then brought it close and frowned. “Oh, man. I’ve got a chip.” She bent at the waist and rummaged through her bag. Sitting up, she sawed a nail file back and forth over the jagged edge. “Face it, Cees, you may live like a nun, but you’re as attracted to a broad chest and a pair of muscled arms as I am. Besides, aren’t you the one who said you’re sick of being a twenty-six-year-old weirdo who’s never had sex?”

  CC jerked her gaze around the room. Relieved to find no one had heard, she lowered her voice. “No. I said I’m sick of being the weirdo who’s never had a date.”

  “Semantics.” Kris shoved the file into her bag and pushed from the bench to pick up a pair of weights. She joined CC at the mirror. “Girlfriend, there are millions of women around the world who would kill for the opportunity to study sex education under the tutelage of Professor Kevin Tucker.”

  She blew a derisive snort and resumed her reps. “Yeah, well, I’m not one of them.” Her shoulder received a teasing bump and Kris grinned.

  “Says the girl who practically badgered him into dating her.”

  Okay, there was that. She sighed. “He’s a gigolo.”

  A dimple winked in Kris’s grin. “A freaking gorgeous gigolo.”

  True. “He’s pushy.”

  “He’s a guy.”

  “And arrogant.”

  “He’s a pro athlete. Comes with the territory. From what I’ve heard, he’s also charming.”

  She couldn’t argue with that. Still… “He’s famous, Kris. He insisted on going along with us to Walter’s first lesson. It was chaos. By the time class had ended, a mob had formed. You should have seen the way people thronged around him. He nearly caused a riot.”

  “So
unds like a good test for your theory.”

  She scowled. “I had something a little more anonymous in mind.”

  “You survived the riot without having an attack, right?

  Damn it. She hated when Kris played the logic card. “Yeah.”

  “Well, there you go.”

  She dropped her arms to her sides and shook her head. “He’s with a new woman every other week.”

  “Perfect. You didn’t want to keep him.” Kris waggled her brows. “Or did you?”

  “No!” Keeping a man like Tuck was out of the question. She did want him, however, and that was the problem. Still, Kris was right. The whole point of her theory was to break the tethers that held her captive. Sex with Tuck would be one, big, honking, pleasant first in what she hoped would be a long line of firsts, but…

  A long sigh escaped. “I’m scared, Kris. When it comes to sex, he’s an all pro. I don’t even rate rookie status.”

  “Who better to teach you the playbook than a pro?” She grinned at CC’s groan. “Don’t overanalyze this, Cees. You say you’re sick of the status quo. Here’s your chance to make some changes. Men like Tuck are a rare opportunity, meant to be enjoyed. I say go for it.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut. There was no doubt in her mind sex with Tuck would be enjoyable, but was she the kind of woman who could have a fling with one of the most sought-after men on the East Coast and walk away unscathed?

  “Uh, Cees? I hope your silence means you’ve decided to play school with Tuck.”

  Yanked from her musings, her eyes blinked open. “Why?”

  Kris tilted her head toward the front of the gym. “Because, unless I’m wrong, class is about to begin.”

  She whirled her head around. A confusing mix of horror, disbelief, and bemused pleasure lifted the hair on her arms as her shocked gaze collided with a pair of intent, cobalt blue eyes.

  * * * *

  “Well, I’ll be damned. What’s she doing here?” Tuck’s gaze flicked to the grinning redhead before swinging back to CC where she stood on the other side of the gym. She stared at him, blinking. Pleasure coursed through him as her lips formed another of those light profanities she looked too sweet to know, much less use.

  Beside him, the gym’s owner, Max Grayson, turned from greeting Vern, the gym’s time battered manager, and followed Tuck’s gaze. “You know Kris?”

  He shot him a brief, sidelong glance. “If you mean the redhead, then no. I was talking about the blonde.”

  Max shook his head. “I should have known. You and your blondes. Man, you need to broaden your horizons.”

  He laughed. “Haven’t you read the papers? My horizons are broad and legendary, my friend.”

  Max grinned. “Who is she? I’ve never seen her in here before.”

  He spoke without looking at his friend. “She’s not a member?”

  “Not unless she signed up this morning, and you didn’t answer my question.”

  “CC Calhoun.”

  CC began shoving a towel into a small duffel while the redhead frowned.

  “We met a few days ago.”

  “She’s hot.”

  Tuck jerked his head around to stab Max with a withering glare. Though he’d only met the man a few months earlier, it was impossible not to like Gracie’s best friend from childhood. Bold, bawdy, and bulky with muscle, the cage fighting champion and gym owner was quick to laugh and unfailingly loyal to those he considered friends. He counted Tuck in that group, and the feeling was mutual. That didn’t mean Tuck trusted Max when it came to women.

  Before Jake Malone retired from the dating field by marrying Gracie, he and Tuck enjoyed a friendly competition, doing their best to steal the other’s current lady love out from under each other’s noses. With Jake out of the picture, Max had stepped smoothly into the game. By Tuck’s estimation, the score between them was dead even.

  Max chuckled and his gray eyes twinkled with challenge. A shiver of apprehension tap danced down Tuck’s spine.

  His friend ran long fingers over the short, black bristle covering his jaw. “Are you seeing her?”

  Oh, hell. “Yes, I am. Stay the hell away from her.”

  “Oh, ho!” Max thumped him across the shoulders on a hardy laugh. “You’ve been holding out on me, buddy.”

  Damn straight he had. He’d often marveled at Max’s ability to draw women. A product of the New York foster care system, the years of tough living showed on his battered face but hadn’t touched his optimistic spirit. Women flocked to his easy laugh and generous personality, despite his hoodlum looks. The same had been said of Tuck over the years, much to his amusement, but at the moment, he had no desire to laugh.

  He bristled under Max’s gleeful humor. “I mean it, Max. She’s not available.”

  Max dropped his arm and shook his head. “Hot damn. First Jake, now you. Shit, it’s an epidemic.”

  The fist of panic he’d come to recognize since meeting CC clenched Tuck’s gut.

  Max chuckled. “Damn, man. There’s going to be a stampede of heartbroken women when the word gets out you’re off the market.” He rubbed his hands together and grinned. “But don’t worry, I’ll take up the slack.”

  Tuck scowled and turned. CC stormed in their direction.

  “I’m not off the market, just on hold for a while.”

  “Whatever you say, but have you told her that?” Max’s grin slipped to a polite smile as CC and her friend approached.

  Lips pulled tight in a mulish line, CC came to a stop before them. She jutted out her chin like a prize fighter preparing to take a punch. “What are you doing here?”

  Max snickered at his side. Tuck’s clenched muscles loosened at her grumbled tone, and he couldn’t help poking her a little. He crossed his arms. “I was about to ask you the same thing. Are you following me, sunshine?”

  He nearly laughed when her mouth dropped open. She snapped it shut and spoke through gritted teeth. “I had no idea you’d be here.”

  “Are you sure? It wouldn’t be the first time a woman tracked me down, then pretended ignorance.”

  Her back snapped straight, and her lips flattened out. Emerald fire spit from her eyes. “Why you arrogant… Don’t flatter yourself. Stalking is your style, not mine.”

  He grinned. “I know.”

  Yanking on the strap of the bag hanging over one shoulder, she lifted her chin. “There are thousands of gyms in the city. How the heck was I supposed to know—” She blinked and that sexy little wrinkle creased her brow. “You do?”

  He nodded and smiled. “Yeah, I do, but admit it. You’re happy to see me.”

  An adorable blush bloomed on her cheeks, even as she narrowed her eyes. Still, the shadow of a smile haunted her lips. “You’re an ass.”

  He laughed.

  Max chuckled. “True that. We haven’t been introduced. I’m Max Grayson. This is my place.” He stuck out his hand.

  “CC.” After a slight hesitation, she placed her hand in his, shook it, and pulled her hand back quickly.

  Tuck turned to her redheaded friend. “Nice to meet you. You’re Kris, right?” Surprise widened her eyes and he smiled. “Max gave me your name.”

  CC’s brows popped together while Kris accepted his hand with a grin. “And you’re Tuck. I’m CC’s cousin and roommate. She told me you’ve consented to help her test her theory.”

  CC shot her cousin a fulminating glare.

  “Theory?” Max eyed him with a lifted brow.

  Tuck’s soft groan was echoed by CC’s much louder one.

  With a negligent toss of a shoulder, he dismissed Max’s challenging grin. “Long story.” He turned back to CC. Because he wanted to, and because it would fluster her, he brushed a fingertip over her cheek. “I thought you were working in your studio this morning.”

  A dimple scored Kris’s cheek as she smiled. “I dragged her along. She spends too much time locked up with her sculptures and needs to get out more.”

  CC sent her a seething stare. Her
cousin bared her teeth in a smile.

  “I agree, and plan to change that.” Tuck winked at Kris before pinning CC with his most charming smile. “Beginning now. Have lunch with me.”

  “Oh, I…” Refusal flashed in her eyes. She glanced at Kris, but if she was looking for support, she found none.

  Kris dug in her bag and pulled out her phone. “Perfect. I have an appointment uptown.”

  The sexy wrinkle returned. “What appointment?”

  The redhead held up a finger, brandishing the flaw in her otherwise perfect manicure in CC’s face. “Paws and claws, babe, and there’s a sweet pair of three-inch heels in a shop on Park just waiting for me to give them a good home.”

  CC pushed her hand aside to glare at the dark, skin-tight leggings and soft white, off-the-shoulder T-shirt covering Kris’s long, slim body. “You just worked out. Since when do you go shopping in a sweaty leotard?”

  Kris tossed her head. “This is New York. No one will even notice.”

  Max hummed low in his throat. His appreciative gaze slid down the curves displayed by the leotard in question. “I would.”

  Tuck nodded his agreement. “Me, too.”

  CC rolled her eyes.

  Delighted laughter floated through the air as Kris patted Max’s cheek. “Why do you think I wore it, handsome?” She laughed and dropped her hand, swinging her gaze to Tuck. “I’ve decided I like you.”

  Tuck offered her a generous smile, but as she turned to face him fully, all hint of humor disappeared from her face. Militant intensity gleamed in her eyes.

  She stabbed the chipped nail into the center of his chest. “But if you hurt her, you die.” With that, she sashayed toward the front of the gym, waiving her hand as she disappeared out the doorway.

  Chapter 9

  Tuck curled his fingers around Walter’s collar and opened the door. Ronald, the stiff, stood on the stoop, dressed in the same type of conservative attire he’d worn the other day. Against the backdrop of the gentle summer day, the black suit hung on his shoulders like a sinister cape.

  Surprise lit the agent’s dark eyes. “Oh. I was expecting CC or Kris.”